As I write this the big countdown number on the blog says 36 days till #MyLongWalk2019 – it only seems like yesterday I booked my flight to Biarritz – booked on January 9th! In fact, it doesn’t seem that long ago that I decided that the end of July 2019 was the time to set off – I think I finally committed after my last cycle trip abroad last July!
June has been a chance to get some walking in – and finally decide on which of the three pairs of shoes I have been ‘wearing in’ I will actually walk the Camino in. More of that later!
Back at the end of May I went for 2 days walking in Belgium with the aim of finding the grave of Sydney Henry George (see previous post Practice and a very personal pilgrimage). The Commonwealth War Graves of Ypres (Ieper) and the surrounding Flanders countryside are some of the most beautiful, yet thought-provoking, places I have ever been. They are also places for contemplation and gratitude for the greatest of sacrifice that allows people like me to go on Camino. I found Private George’s name on the Tyne Cot Memorial and laid a small stone from our garden at the base of the panel his name appears on. I was also privileged and humbled to attend – on two occasions – The Last Post ceremony at the Menen Gate in Ieper.
After allowing my feet a couple of weeks to recover (the 5° wedges given to me to insert into my shoes by the podiatrist gave me incredibly sore heels – we have dropped down to 3° now and all seems fine!) I headed out on a hike on another of the great ancient routes that are local to Reading, The Ridgeway. A beautiful walk from Goring to Didcot via the chalk downland trail, then down to Blewbury before train home.
This past weekend I managed a double header – walking both Saturday and Sunday – although both were a little shy of 20km! Firstly it was the latest leg of the St James Way trail with the ‘Reading peregrinos’ from Kings Worthy to Eastleigh via Winchester Cathedral, The Hospital of St Cross and the Itchen Way. A fine day out with surprise appearances from The Flying Scotsman, a Model T Ford and a Spitfire! Sunday was also spent walking a riverside trail – the Blackwater Valley Path from Shinfield to Crowthorne.
Finally, the shoe dilemma appears to have been resolved. It appears that the shoes that are most comfortable and create no hotspots, blisters or sore toes are my Hoka One One Challengers. These are actually running shoes but, as I have discovered on many forums, they are sworn by for many Camino veterans.
My Long Walk 2019 